This first book in the series introduces Matty Graves, midshipman in the early years of the United States Navy. In 1799, the young U.S. Navy faces France in an undeclared Quasi-War for the Caribbean. Matty Graves is caught up in escalating violence as he serves aboard the Rattle-Snake under his drunken cousin, Billy. Matty already knows how to handle the sails and fight a ship. Now, with the sarcastic Lieutenant Peter Wickett as his mentor and nemesis, he faces the ironies of a war where telling friend from foe is no mean trick.
No Quarter: A Matty Graves Novel (The Matty Graves Novels)
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From the Inside Flap
Telling friend from foe is no mean trick . . .
It's 1799 and seventeen-year-old Matty Graves is a midshipman aboard the USS Rattle-Snake. Matty already knows how to fight sea battles and sail the great warships of the U.S. Navy. But serving aboard the Rattle-Snake calls for more than that. Matty's captain is his own cousin Billy. But Billy is a drunk and maybe a coward. Then there's the Rattle-Snake's sarcastic first lieutenant, Peter Wickett. He's more than willing to run the ship-but has he also set his sights on mutiny? Deep in Caribbean waters, Matty faces some tough choices as the Rattle-Snake confronts the English, takes on blood-thirsty pirates and rescues stolen merchant ships from Haitian rebels backed by Napoleon Bonaparte. With Wickett as both his mentor and his nemesis, Matty struggles to decide where his allegiance lies before it is too late. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From the Back Cover
"Broos Campbell brings to his writing a feel for his period and an understanding of naval seamanship and traditions that are not often seen in maritime fiction. His characters are sharp, genuine and fascinating, his plotting fast-paced and authentic. Campbell has done the world of nautical literature a great service, bringing to life this little-know but crucial period in the life of the United States Navy, and doing it with style and authenticity." -James L. Nelson, author of The Only Life That Mattered
"Campbell writes with a vivid immediacy and understated authority . . . His evocation of life aboard a small man-of-war in the young United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France is superb, his characterization is both acute and realistic, his dialogue witty and shrewd. No Quarter is a delight to read and places its author head and shoulders above his American rivals. I look forward to the further adventures of Matty Graves and the enigmatic Mr. Wickett with eager anticipation." -Richard Woodman, author of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series
"Campbell is one of those all-too-rare historical novelists who understands that the real world turns less often on acts of wisdom and courage than it does on folly, incompetence and blind mischance. Refreshingly cynical." -Jonathan Lunn, author of the Killigrew series --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast and Fresh,
By Lisa Jensen "Movie critic and pirate novelist" (Santa Cruz, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: No Quarter: A Matty Graves Novel (The Matty Graves Novels) (Hardcover)
With this fast-paced launch of a new series, Broos Campbell offers a fresh perspective on the seafaring novel--a Napoleonic-era saga with an American, not English protagonist. In the last days of 1799, 17-year-old midshipman Matty Graves sails out of Baltimore aboard the USS Rattle-Snake of the fledgling U. S. Navy, bound for the strife-torn West Indian island of Santo Domingo. As the Rattle-Snakes fend off a press-minded Royal Navy frigate and savage island picaroons, trouble brews between Captain Trimble, a genial lush who is also Matty's cousin, and wily, acerbic First Lieutenant Peter Wickett, ferociously competent and ripe for his own command. But will he risk mutiny to get it? Campbell's period dialogue is expressive, succinct, and often damned funny. His characters are well-developed, he writes about shipboard life with authority, and he understands that history is as often made by weakness and blind, dumb chance as stout-hearted heroics. As for Matty, he's a complex, resourceful young fellow with a dry wit who'll be excellent company as the series progresses. Sign on now!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A long needed series,
By
This review is from: No Quarter: A Matty Graves Novel (The Matty Graves Novels) (Hardcover)
I have always been a fan of British Naval series and always wondered why no one wrote a series dealing with the American navy during the Age of Sail. Campbell has now done just that. I found No Quarter an excellent read, good story and characters with solid historical information. I look forward to the next book.
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beware Wickett's Purple Stain,
By
This review is from: No Quarter: A Matty Graves Novel (The Matty Graves Novels) (Hardcover)
Campbell delivers an entirely new slant on the genre of historical nautical fiction in his debut of what projects to be a trilogy about the neophyte American Navy. What sets this book apart from many other writers in the genre is his original, telling characterization, and a truly signature style. The publisher calls it ironic, but I think that description is somewhat off--wry, yes, ironic, mmmm, not so much. But it is a delightful and well-paced read and I am pretty hard to satisfy when it comes to this type of book (If you don't believe me, just read my lambasting of Edward Cline's SPARROWHAWK: BOOK ONE JACK FRAKE). Intelligent without being "brainy," Campbell proves himself a literary force to be reckoned with.
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs):
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Cousin Billy, Sir Horace, Captain Trimble, San Domingo, Augustin von Steuben, United States, Captain Peavey, Royal Navy, Freddy Billings, Hoyden Blair, Johnny Crappo, Citizen Villon, Bight of Léogane, First Consul, Corporal Haversham, Commodore Truxtun, Captain Oxford, Port Républicain, Saro Brown, Citizen Prêteur, Commodore Gaswell, Jack Tar, Wicked Pete, White Oak, Peter Wickett Browse Sample Pages:
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Cousin Billy, Sir Horace, Captain Trimble, San Domingo, Augustin von Steuben, United States, Captain Peavey, Royal Navy, Freddy Billings, Hoyden Blair, Johnny Crappo, Citizen Villon, Bight of Léogane, First Consul, Corporal Haversham, Commodore Truxtun, Captain Oxford, Port Républicain, Saro Brown, Citizen Prêteur, Commodore Gaswell, Jack Tar, Wicked Pete, White Oak, Peter Wickett Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
2
books
cite this book:
- They Fight Like Devils: Stories from Lucknow during the Great Indian Mutiny, 1857-58 by D. A. Kinsley on page 186
- They Fight Like Devils by D.a. Kinsley on page 203
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